The 2018 Marketing Trends You Need to Know

From AI to hyper-personalization to voice-optimized content, 2018 will be the year marketing strategies and tactics elevate to new levels. Each new year brings a bevy of trends and predictions from the likes of Forbes, Entrepreneur, Social Media Today and others. There’s plenty of crossover, like the increase in the importance of personalization, integrating marketing across the entire customer lifecycle and the growth of live video.

Here’s a sampling of the hottest 2018 marketing trends:

• Voice-Optimized Content
Last year, 20 percent of online searches were conducted through voice search. By 2020, that number is expected to increase to 50 percent. Just as marketers have optimized content for web 2.0 and mobile, they will start optimizing content for voice search as well. (Entrepreneur)

• App Capitalization
We’ll see more app capitalization—more brands purchasing ads and making deals to earn exposure on highly popular apps for functions like maps, transportation, reviews and more. (Forbes)

• Live Events in the SpotlightApproximately two-thirds of marketers say that they will increase the number of live events they host in 2018. This is because marketers recognize that live events are one of the most effective marketing channels.(Entrepreneur)

• The Move to Micro influencersWhen it comes to social influencing, to be considered a celebrity, one has to have over 1 million followers. People with 500k–1 million followers and 100k–500k followers fall into the macro influencer and middle influencer categories, respectively. Micro influencers have between 1k–100k followers on social media. Brands are reaching out to micro influencers because it’s easier for people to relate to them. (QuickSprout)

Check out Chief Marketer’s New Interactive Special Report: View from the Top—20 CMOs sound off on the trends, challenges and opportunities B2C and B2B marketers face in 2018

• The Shift to Gen ZStart to shift your focus toward Generation Z. The oldest people in this generation are entering their early 20s. As they get ready to graduate from college, they’ll enter the workforce, which means their consumption habits will change and a steady job means they will have more buying power. (QuickSprout)

• Micro Moments
The brands that spend the most time trying to learn, understand, and capitalize on mobile micro-moments are going to have the highest possibilities of success. It requires deeper demographic research and a mobile-intensive strategy, but with the new tools we’ll see develop, it’s going to be easier to approach for modern brands. (Forbes)

• Diversify ContentRather than focusing too heavily on top-of-the-funnel content to fuel your customer acquisition, your strategy should switch to supporting every stage of a buyer’s journey. Going forward, content will need to be more diverse, purposeful, nurturing, and interconnected so it propels the customer forward. (Neil Patel Blog)

• TV Ads Move to Digital
As TV migrates to the digital world—Facebook, YouTube, Amazon, Netflix and Hulu among others—so will savvy business owners, opting for social media and YouTube ads rather than local TV commercials. (Social Media Today)

• Privacy PriorityWith more than 143 million Americans affected by the Equifax breach in 2017, consumers are worried about their privacy. Start using privacy protection as a selling point by letting customers know how you are protecting their information. (QuickSprout)

Chief Marketer Videos

Damon Swenson, Brand Activation Manager at Dr Pepper, on crafting a retail program using custom labels tied to Millennials’ passion points and lifestyle interests like fashion, music and pop-culture. He presented his case study at Marketing to Millennials 2017.